I have this little Honda hatchback that I got with no title just to play with in my fields and backyard and the clutch isn't super great...it is there but it wouldn't last a fith gear burn out...which is what I plan to do at the burnout competition at the P&S show in Carlisle, PA.

The clutch I want is an Ebay "stage 3" 6-puck for like $120 delivered...not bad but it has a 500 mile break in period and this car can't even pass for street legal. I was thinking about putting it up on jackstands and running it for 500 or so miles...or just breaking it in nascar style and just running the piss out of it.

So what do you guys think? please don't say it's a waste of time cause there is a $500 cash prize and I think I might be able to beat the Whiplash Integra...even if I can't it would be fun as poop to try.

some pics of the car let the lawls begin

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7431/biglittles1lq9.jpg
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/903/overflowos3.jpg
http://img264.imageshack.us/my.php?image=steeringwheel4qt9.jpg

jackstand and run it is my vote.

Agreed.

Nice overflow bottle. And I hope you have a helmet, because hitting your face on that steering wheel looks very dangerous.

The reason that they want you to break it in is so the clutch and flywheel/pressure plate mar together, just like bearings and their journals. You can't break in the clutch by just running it in a single gear. The clutch has to slip some at operating speed in order to mark up the flywheel and pressure plate faces, and it needs a load in order to do so.

I'm not entirely sure how it would hold up under a short ass-whipping, but I am fairly certain running it 500 miles on jackstands in 5th gear is not going to break it in.

I imagine the 500 miles figure wasn't dervied from 'the clutch will spin this many times in 500 miles', but rather 'the clutch will be engaged and disengaged approximately this many times in 500 miles'. If you just leave in gear for a while, that would be cheating, and invalidate that approximation.

Thus no, I don't think that would work.

I was thinking about it last night and pretty much figured that its more like the clutch should be broke in using slippage and by actually haveing a car to pull around...

well I had the car since may and I have only put 60 some miles on it driving it around my property...and alot of those a just from spinning the tires.

I'd love to pick up a chick for a date in that car

Just drive it around for a good 2 hours, engaging and disengaging the clutch a bunch, slipping it ever so slightly

Maybe do it for 6 hours total.

Question to the experts: What will happen if you don't do a proper break in?
Does it reduce the life and also reduce the performance you can get out of it?

I'm guessing it'd mainly just reduce the life of the clutch.
If that's the case, then by how much? I'd bet the car probably isn't even going to get close to the expected service life of the clutch anyways, so maybe it won't hurt to sacrifice a little of the lifetime of the clutch...


Just a thought.

I have no idea what the break in would be for, except to enhance friction between the surfaces.

In which case the only penalty is the clutch will be prone to slippage during the rbeak in period.

This is pulled completely out of my ass, and may be wrong.

You can't not break in a clutch.

If you beat on it to break it in, it'll be more prone to slippage during the break in period. It will wear it faster. If you slip it too much, you could glaze the flywheel and then good luck. You could glaze the flywheel any day of the week though.

If you are gentle with it, and let it break in and mate properly, it will operate up to what it was designed for.

Either way it's getting broken in.

The break in period just means it might not hold 500ft lbs or whatever it's rated for until you've broken it in.

You should use a coke bottle instead. Also, put a FEAR THIS sticker on your door. Makes it go faster.

Nothing like a good cop chase to brake in the clutch.

Don't be such a puss and get that heap on the road.

Agreed.

x2 mate!:D

Don't worry about it too much, the manufacturer puts that warning just to cover their asses mostly. Take a good look at your flywheel, it might need resurfacing. If you're not gonna resurface the flywheel you should scuff the hell out of it with some 100 grit sandpaper to make a good surface for the clutch to work on. Its probably a good idea to drive around gently for a few hours though.

How about running it on a rolling road/dynamometer?

you know how much they charge for a dyno per hour right?

I was going to say putting it on stands and letting it run freely for that long isn't going to break the clutch in because it needs to be run under load for such wear to happen.

Never put a running vehicle up on stands.

okay;)

Okay, so I am going to put the clutch in, and drive it around all day being gentle with it and trying to slip it and ride it as much as possible(that's what she said).

should I do alot of starting and stopping or shifting or how exactly should I go about this. I don't want to screw it up and smoke my clutch and get booed out of the burnout box

Listen bud if you strip that thing in some ol shitty fuckin honda hatchback i swear i'll razz you right outta totse. Just sell that old thing for parts and buy new parts for your car? Jesus,.


$500.....